The Chronicle’s Tom Fowler draws a comparison between the Enron trial of Jeff Skilling and a possible criminal trial against BP executives, looking at the issue of pretrial publicity. That got me thinking about the potential prosecution surrounding the spill. We’ve been down this road with BP before, of course. After the Texas City refinery […]
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With the creation of the $20 billion liability fund this week, Anadarko Petroleum of The Woodlands had a couple of ways it could play things. As a 25 percent interest holder in the Macondo well, it could pitch in its share. Or it could decide to fight and accuse BP of gross negligence, which is […]
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Tony Hayward is going home, even though the problems in the Gulf of Mexico are far from fixed. Hayward, who once vowed to stay until the job was done, is now handing off the duties for capping the runaway well and cleaning up the oil to BP managing director Bob Dudley. AP Dudley: BP’s fresh […]
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Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward before a congressional committee this morning is sparking a lot of discussion. Barton said he was speaking for himself in calling a $20 billion fund, set up at the White House’s urging, a shakedown. It’s already become political fodder. But is the fund, to pay claims […]
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BP has an army of spin doctors working on muting the outrage about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but you wouldn’t know it listening to Tony Hayward’s congressional testimony today. Hayward keeps reiterating his carefully crafted PR talking points, but he’s not answering lawmakers’ questions. Hayward insisted that he’s had a “laser focus” on […]
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No really. At a hearing in Washington, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, said while he believes BP is liability for the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, he thinks it’s wrong that the White House forced the company to set up a $20 billion fund to pay liability claims. Barton called the fund a “$20 […]
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AP BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg Speaking on the steps of the White House after a meeting with President Obama, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the company will not make any dividend payments for the rest of the year, including the one due later this month. The oil company also agreed to set up a $20 […]
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As congressional testimony from oil industry executives gets underway in Washington, there’s some indication that other majors will break ranks and separate themselves from BP. It’s a surprising move, given the insular nature of the oil business. Few companies openly criticize each other because they all partner with each other at some point. For weeks, […]
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There’s been lots of pictures of oiled birds and other sea life, but an oysterman in Louisiana snapped this picture of a crab covered in oil last week. The crab was caught as a crew was checking the impact to oyster reefs of oil coming ashore from BP’s runaway Macondo well in the Gulf of […]
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U.S. lawmakers are calling on BP to suspend dividend payments to its shareholders until the company caps the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico and cleans up the spill. The company was expected to pay more than $10 billion in dividends next month. BP has said it will make a decision on the payment […]
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